Pneumatic upholstery



1941- I c. H. NEAL 2,253,801,.

PNEUMATIC UPHOLSTERY Filed Aug. 22, 1938 IN VEN TOR.

U/MELES H NEAL.

A TTORNEY Patented Aug. 26, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE My invention relates to pneumatic upholstery, and is applicable to the construction of, mattresses, cushions, and to the upholstery of furniture in general.

One of the objects of this invention is the provision of a novel case for pneumatic upholstery, which consists of individual and separate tubular casings secured together at their adjacent sides, and which may be variously secured together to provide mattresses, cushions, or upholstery of difierent thicknesses.

Also an object of this invention is to Provide a novel method of constructing the whole case, and also of sewing or securing the individual or separate casings together.

Another object of this invention is to provide a case having individual tubular compartments for receiving pneumatic tubes which are all readily accessible, which may be readily removed, and readily concealed.

With these and other objects in view, as will appear hereinafter, I have devised a pneumatic upholstery case having certain novel features of construction, combination, and arrangement of parts and portions, as will be hereinafter described in detail and particularly set forth in the appended claims, reference being had to the accomp nyin drawing and to the characters of reference thereon, which form a part of this application, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a pneumatic cushion embodying my invention, a portion being open to facilitate the illustration;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view thereof, taken through 2-2 of Fig. 1, showing a portion of the pneumatic tube broken away and in section to facilitate the illustration; and,

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view thereof taken through 3-3 of Fig. 1.

My mattress, cushion, or other upholstery consists of a case A in which are enclosed individual pneumatic tubes I. The case A consists of a plurality of separate casings 2 providing long individual receptacles for the reception of the tubes I. Each casing is made of a strip of pliable sheet material, preferably of a suitable fabric. Each complete casing is secured to the adjacent casing by two spaced rows of stitches 3 and l, forming pneumatic tube casings with straight side walls and crowned top and bottom walls, which substantially form tufts.

The case A. is made by sewing one strip, which to and between the two adjacent strips, with their outer sides adjacent each other. This sewing consists of said two spaced rows of stitches 3 and 4, the first row 3 being spaced from, but arranged parallel to the long edges, and the second row 4 being spaced from, and arranged parallel to the previous row. As many of such strips are sewed together as is necessary to form a. mattress, cushion or upholstery, of the desired width. The free long edges of each strip are sewed together by stitching 5 forming a seam which closes the casing at the under side of the completed case.

It will be noted that with a strip of the same width, a mattress, cushion or upholstery of varying thicknesses may. be made by varying the spaces between the stitches 3 and 4 and the spacing of the stitches 3 from the free edge of the strip.

To the edges of the coincident ends of the top and bottom walls of the tubular casings, are sewed flaps 6 and I. This-securing of the flaps to the casing may be substantially in the form of scallops, as shown. The free edges of the flaps are straight, and are secured together by suitable means, such as the common slide fastener 8.

The pneumatic tubes 1 are preferably straight and of a length to fill the tubular casings, and are made of elastic rubber so that they may be inflated to expand the casings and subject the same to a pressure to obtain the desired softness and resiliency. At one end of each tube is a valve 9 to facilitate the inflation of the tube, and the retention of the fluid pressure. These valves 9 are preferably arranged at the same end so that when the flaps 6 and l, at one edge of the case, are opened, the valves of all of the tubes are exposed.

The opening ofthe flaps 6 and l, by withdrawing the slide fasteners 8, at the opposite edges, permits the pneumatic tubes to be withdrawn from either side.

; rality of tubular casings, each formed of a pliforms one pneumatic tube casing or receptacle,

able strip of material having its free edges stitched together, the said tubular casings being secured together intermediate their stitched edges by longitudinal rows of vertically spaced stitching, a pneumatic tube within each 01 said casings, and an upper and lower flap closing the ends of the series of tubular casings and having their inner edges detachably secured together.

2. A pneumatic upholstery, comprising a plurality of tubular casings, each formed at a pliable strip of material having its free edges stitched together, the said tubular casings being 10 CHARLES H. NEAL. 

